Tape wrapping machines



Aug. 14, 1962 J. H. CASEY TAPE WRAPPING MACHINES 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 FiledJune 8, 1959 INVENTOR.

JAMES H. CASEY ATTORNEYS 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 J. H. CASEY TAPE WRAPPINGMACHINES Aug. 14, 1962 Filed June 8, 1959 INVENTOR. JAMES H. CASEY @MW/g@244) A j/ ATTORNEYS Aug. 14, 1962 J. H. CASEY TAPE WRAPPING MACHINES 5Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed June 8, 1959 JIVVENTOR. JAMES H. CASEY ATTORNEYS3,648,953 Patented Aug. 14, 1962 use 3,048,953 TAPE WRAPPING MACHINESJames H. Casey, Roseviile, Minn., assignor to Minnesota Mining &Manufacturing Company, St. Paul, Minn., a corporation of Delaware FiledJune 8, 1959, Ser. No. 818,909 3 Claims. (Cl. 53-198) The presentinvention relates to tape wrapping machines having a releasable jaw,which machines are of the type which dispense a length of tape from aroll thereof to seal or mark an article, or to wrap a number of separatearticles to form them into a wrapped bundle. Machines of this type aredescribed and claimed in Norman J. Bouchard application executed June 2,1959 (Serial No. 818,682), and being filed concurrently herewith.

A typical wrapping machine of the kind to which this invention relatescontains a recess into which the article or articles to be wrapped areplaced (against the adhesive coated surface, near the free end, of asupply of tape) and a transporting shuttle which acts to withdraw tapefrom the supply and apply it to the article or articles as the shuttleis moved across the recess, over the top of the article. The adhesiveside of the transported tape adheres to the adhesive side of the freeend of the tape, and is then severed, forming a flag type wrap aroundthe article.

Tape wrapping machines as above briefly described have heretofore beenso constructed that the wrapped articles must be removed from themachine by reversing the movement made by the operator in placing thearticle into the machine; e.g. the unwrapped article is pushed down intothe recess, by the operator, and then pulled up by him out of the recessafter wrapping. An object of the present invention is to provide meansfor removing the wrapped article from a machine by continuation of thesame motion (e.g. downward motion) which was made in inserting thearticle into such machines, which motion is continued to accomplish thewrapping of the article. A wrapping machine of this invention, having areleasable jaw, permits the operator to place an article to be wrappedinto the machine, to wrap the article, and to remove the wrappedarticle, all with one continuous motion, thereby providing an easier andquicker method of wrapping articles with such a machine.

The embodiment of this invention to be hereinafter particularlydescribed, has been adapted for special utility for applying a wrap ofpressure-sensitive adhesive tape about the neck of a bag. It will beapparent, however, as this description proceeds, that the releasable jawmay be used on other machines which have been adapted for sealing,holding or marking purposes, and that said invention can be adapted ormodified for more varied usage, without departing from the conceptinvolved.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from thefollowing detailed description of the embodiment shown in theaccompanying drawings, in which drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view of a wrapping machine with areleasable jaw attached thereto, and with a roll of pressure-sensitiveadhesive tape mounted therein, showing the machine in rest position,with part of one side of the machine broken away, for purpose ofclarity,

FIGURE 2 is a view taken along the line 2-2 of FIGURE 1, showing across-section of the releasable jaw,

FIGURE 3 is a view taken along line 3-3 of FIGURE 1, with parts of themachine broken away, or shown in section, for the purpose of showingdetailed construction,

FIGURE 4 is a detailed exploded view, in perspective, showing the knifeof the machine shown in FIGURE 1, and the bracket in which said knife ismounted.

FIGURE 5 is a detailed perspective view of the slide channel containedin the machine shown in FIGURE 1,

FIGURE 6 is a side elevational view of the machine of FIGURE 1, showingthat machine in operating position with the neck of a bag insertedtherein, and with part of one side of the machine removed, for purposeof clarity. The position which the releasable jaw takes in its rotatedposition is shown in broken lines.

Referring now to FIGURES 1 and 3, the wrapping machine shown will beseen to include generally parallel side members 10 and 11 which are heldtogether in upright position, in spaced relationship to each other. Sidemembers 10 and 11 are pivotally attached to bolt 12, which bolt isattached through brackets 14 and 15. Brackets 14 and 15 are attached tobase member 16 by screws 17. Post 13 is also pivotally attached to bolt12, between side members 10 and 11, and extends upwardly therefrom tosupport tape roll 20. Tape roll 20 is mounted on hub 19, and bolt 18 isinserted through hub 19 and post 13, rotatably attaching hub 19 to post13. Hub 19 is provided with ridges 21 to engage the inner circumferenceof tape roll 20 more firmly. Post 13 is bent to accommodate theperiphery of tape roll 20, and tape roll 20 is mounted in such a mannerthat the adhesive coated surface of the unwound tape T will faceupwardly, and be aligned to pass between side members It) and 11, astape T is unwoun'd from the roll 20 and threaded forwardly through themachine.

As the tape T passes forwardly from the tape roll 20, it is firstthreaded between rollers 22 and 23, which rollers are rotatably attachedto, and between, side members 10 and 11. Roller 22 has a smooth surface,but the peripheral surface of roller 23 contains corrugations 24, androller 23 is prevented from rotation in the clockwise direction (whenviewed as shown in FIGURE 1) by metallic strip 25 which is keyed intoapertures 28 in side members 10 and 11. Spring 27 is mounted inapertures 26 in sides 10 and 11, and bears downwardly against the topsurface of strip 25, causing tip 29 of strip 25 to ride uponcorrugations 24 in roller 23, when said roller is moved in thecounter-clockwise direction. However, tip 29 is wedged between adjacentcorrugations 24 to prevent movement of roller 23 in a clockwisedirection. Tape T is thus prevented from moving between the rollers 22and 23, toward tape roll 20.

After passing between rollers 22 and 23, tape T is threaded into slidechannel 30 and the tape passes along the floor of said channel towardthe front of the machine. Slide channel 30 is pivotally mounted betweenside members 1t and 11 on pin 31. Retainer 32 is pivotally mountedwithin slide channel 30 by means of extensions 33 which extend intoslots 34 in the side of slide channel 30. Spring 36 is attached to pin37 and to the rearward end 38 of retainer 32, and since pin 37 isattached to side members 10 and 11, spring 36 acts to urge the rearwardend 38 of retainer 32 upwardly. Thus the forward end 35 of retainer 32is urged in the downward direction by spring 36, and, since the forwardend 35 of retainer 32 acts against the forward end 40 of slide channel30, urging it in the downwardly direction, the rearward end 38 of slidechannel 30 is urged upwardly. This pivotal movement of slide channel 30is limited by the edges of slots 41 in slide channel 30, which edgesbear against pin 37. The forward end 35 of retainer 32 also bearsdownwardly against the adhesive surface of tape T, and serves to holdsaid tape along the bottom surface of slide channel 30.

From slide channel 30, tape T passes forwardly across recess 60, overadapter 42 and onto receiving block 43. Recess 60 is formed between sidemembers 10 and 11 and releasable jaw 48. Adapter 42 is attached byscrews 44 to receiving block 43, and said adapter can be removed toincrease the depth of recess 69 when articles of greater bulk are to bewrapped by the machine. Receiving block 43 and nose plates 46 and 47 areformed as one piece into releasable jaw member 48. Receiving block 43includes projecting portion 49, and said receiving block is pivotallyattached through said projecting portion to side members and '11 by bolt50. Pin 66 is affixed to projecting portion 49, and spring 65 isattached at its one end to pin 66 and at its other end to hook 64. Hook64 is affixed to housing 62, which housing is attached to the interiorsurfaces of side members 10 and 11 by screws 63. Spring 65 is extendedwhen releasable jaw 48 is rotated in a clockwise direction, and acts tourge said jaw in a counter-clockwise direction.

Semi-circular shaped nose plates 46 and 47, which are afiixed to eachside of receiving block 4-3, extend both upwardly and downwardly fromsaid receiving block. Below receiving block 43, nose plates 46 and 47are farther apart from each other than are side members 10 and 11, sothat during the pivotal movement of releasable jaw 48 these portions ofnose plates 46 and 47 move parallel to side members 10 and 11 closelyalong the outer surfaces thereof. The upper portions of nose plates 46and 47, above receiving block 43, are spaced apart a distance aboutequal to the distance between side members It) and 1 1. Resilient memberis attached to the lower surface of receiving block 43, so that whenreleasable jaw 48 is caused to pivot on bolt 50, the lower area of noseplates 46 and 47 will move along the outside of side plates 11) and 11,until said resilient member bears against side plates 1t) and 11.

The lower portions of nose plates 46 and 47 are provided with slots 52and 53 extending inwardly from the lower edges of said plates and latch55 is urged into said slots by spring 56. Latch 55 is slidably heldbetween side members 10 and 11, and said latch extends outwardly throughapertures (not shown) in said side members to engage into slots 52 and53. Spring 56 is held at one end by bolt 61, and said spring is attachedat its other end to extension 67 on the bottom of latch 55. Bolt 61 isafiixed to housing 62. The counter-clockwise rotation of releasable jaw48 is stopped by means of projections 54 and 57 on the lower area ofnose plates 46 and 47, which projections are forced against latch 55when said releasable jaw is rotated by action of spring 65. When themachine is in rest position, as shown in FIGURE 1, latch 55 is urgedinto slots 52 and 53 by spring 56, and latch 55 serves to holdreleasable jaw 48 in that position.

Shuttle 70 is composed of spaced parallel shuttle bars 71 and 72, andsaid shuttle is mounted between side members 10 and 11 on pins 73 and74. Lever is attached to shuttle bars 71 and 72 by pin 73, and saidlever extends upwardly between said shuttle bars to form cant 88. Lever80 is pivotally attached to sides 10 and 11 by bolt 81, and said leveris also pivotally attached to one end of parallel arm members 82 and 83by pin 84. Arm members 82 and 83 are pivotally attached at their otherends by pin 85 to bracket 86, which bracket is attached by screws 87 tobase 16. Lever 80 extends forwardly at its center portion to form cam89, and said cam is positioned to bear against the lower surface of slot69 in latch 55 when said lever is rotated about bolt 81.

Slide 75 is retained on shuttle 70, between shuttle bars 71 and 72, bypins 76 and 77. Pins 76 and 77 are attached to bars 71 and 72 throughtracks 78 and 79 in slide 75, so that slide 75 is movable along saidpins on said tracks. Spring 90 is inserted in track 79 so that it bearsagainst the rear of said track and against pin 77. Spring 90 acts tourge slide 75 rearwardly, so that the front of track 79 rests againstpin 77 and the front of track 78 bears against pin 76. Knife 91 isaifixed to the forward end of slide 75 by screw 92. Roller 93 isretained between shuttle bars 71 and 72 by pin 94, and bracket 95 issuspended from pin 94, below roller 93. Knife 91 is retained withinbracket 95 and is movable in the forward direction through said bracket,by movement of slide 75. The forward movement of slide 75 isaccomplished by cam 88 on lever 811*, when said lever is pivoted in theclockwise direction on bolt 81.

Link member 190 is pivotally attached between shuttle bars 71 and 72 bypin 74, at one end of said link member, and the other end of said linkmember is pivotally attached to side members 10 and 11 by bolt 101.Parallel connecting bars 1113 and 104-are pivotally attached at theirforward ends to link member 109 by pin 105, and said connecting bars areattached at their rearward ends to post 13 by pin 106. Spring 107 isattached at one end to link member and at its other end to adjustablepin 103. Adjustable pin 198 is attached to side members 10 and 11through apertures 169 in side members 11) and 11, and pin 198 can bemoved into any of the three positions in apertures 1419, therebyadjusting the tension applied against spring 107. When the machine is inrest position, the action of spring 1437 against link member 101) willcause shuttle 79 to be held rearWa-rdly, until the rear surface of theupper part of lever 81 bears against stop 11%), which stop is attachedto, and between, side members 19 and 11 by bolt 102.

In the operation of this machine, with the tape T threaded as describedabove, the article to be taped, here the neck of a bag B as shown inFIGURE 6, is held by the operator at substantially right angles to themachine, and then pressed downwardly into recess 69, against theadhesive side of tape T. Thus, the free end of the tape will extendupwardly, along the front of recess 6%}, against receiving block 43, andthe portion of the tape on the other side of the neck of bag B willextend between the bag and the forward end 49 of slide channel 39.Continued downward pressure against bag B will force the tape againstadapter 42, and sides 10 and 11 will be moved in downward pivotalmovement about bolt 12, toward base 16. This movement of sides 19 and 11will cause the downward movement of bolts 81 and 101, and the action ofarm members 82 and 83, against pin 84 and pin 85, causes lever 84 topivot on bolt 81. The pivotal movement of lever 80 moves the forward endof shuttle 70 in an upward (slightly) and forward direction, and themovement of shuttle 70 carries pin 74 forwardly, pivoting link member101) about bolt 191, against the action of spring 107, causingconnecting bars 103 and 104 to move forwardly and to pivot post 13 in aclockwise direction about bolt 12.

As shuttle 76 is carried slightly upward and forward, roller 93, on pin94, is forced against the non-adhesive side of tape T, and the tape iscarried forwardly over roller 93 by the movement of said shuttle,stripping tape through slide channel 30 and rollers 22 and 23 as shuttle70 moves across recess 60, above the bag B. As shown in FIGURE 6, duringthe movement of shuttle 70 the upper surface of said shuttle movesupwardly against the for- Ward end 40 of slide channel 30, causing slidechannel 30 to pivot on pin 31. Spring 36 acts to hold the forward end 40of slide channel 30 against the upper surface of shuttle 70.

When the tape T has been transported beyond recess 60, the adhesive sideof hte tape carried on shuttle 70 contacts the adhesive side of the freeend of the tape, and the adhesive surfaces of the tape adhere to eachother to form a flag type seal around the neck of bag B. At this pointin the wrapping operation, the action of lever 80 on pin 73 causes theforward end of shuttle 70 to move slightly downward and forward, towardreceiving block 43, as is shown in FIGURE 6, and cam 88 on lever 80begins to bear against the rear surface of slide 75, to move said slideforwardly, against the force of spring 90. The forward movement of slide75 causes knife 91 to move forwardly in bracket 95, and as slide 75moves forward, knife 91 is moved outwardly, through bracket 95 andagainst the tape carried over roller 93, severing said tape and forminga completed wrap around the neck of bag B.

The pivotal movement of lever 80 on bolt 81 also serves to move cam 89in slot 69, thereby moving latch 55 downwardly from slots 52 and 53 innose plates 46 and 47, so that said latch is completely removed fromsaid slots as soon as the tape is severed. With latch 55 removed fromslots 52 and 53, the downward pressure of the bag B against adapter 42causes jaw 48 to pivot on bolt 50, releasing and rotating releasable jaw48 in the clockwise direction to the position shown in dotted lines inFIGURE 6. The bag B is thus permitted to be moved out of the machine inthe downward direction, along the upper surface of the upper area ofnose plates 46 and 47, due to this rotation of releasable jaw 48. Lever80 continues to pivot on bolt 81 until the rear surface of the lowerpart of said lever bears against stop I, stopping the downward movementof sides 10 and 11 and serving to hold latch 55 downward, compressingspring 56.

After the bag B is removed from the machine, spring 107 acts to returnthe moving parts of the machine to rest position, and releasable jaw 48is counter-rotated by spring 65 until projections 54 and 57, on noseplates 46 and 47, bear against latch 55. Spring 56 urges latch 55 in theupward direction, forcing latch 55 into slots 52 and 53, to hold the jaw48 in the rest position shown in FIGURE 1.

The forward movement of post 13 has moved tape roll in that direction,in order that it not be necessary to strip tape from said roll duringthe forward movement of shuttle 70. However, when post 13 is returned toits original position, tape is stripped from the roll since the tapewhich has passed between rollers 22 and 23 is prevented from movingtoward tape roll 20 by action of metallic strip 25 against roller 23.Thus tape which was moved forwardly during the wrapping operation isretained in that forward position, and when the machine is returned toits rest position tape T will overlie recess 60 and receiving block 43,ready for the next article to be wrapped.

Variations in the operation of the above described embodimentundoubtedly suggest themselves, and various modifications of my machine,embodying some or all of the novel features herein disclosed, can beenvisioned. Such variations are comprehended, and I do not intend to belimited only to the specific embodiment herein disclosed, but, rather, Iintend to be limited by my disclosure taken as a whole, including theappended claims.

What I claim is:

1. In a tape wrapping machine having a base, a supporting structuremovable toward said base and a recess into which an article is presseddownwardly for wrapping; a rotatable jaw having a rest position and arelease position, said jaw in its rest position defining a portion ofsaid recess, said jaw being mounted on said supporting structure to movefrom its rest position toward said base and to its release position uponapplication of downward pressure to said article, said movement of saidjaw permitting further downward movement of said article out of saidmachine, a latch normally in engagement with said jaw to preventrotation thereof during movement from its rest position to its releaseposition, and means for disengaging said latch from said jaw to permitrotation thereof, said last-mentioned means being actuated only after apredetermined degree of movement of said supporting structure towardsaid base, means being provided to urge said jaw to its rest position.

2. In a tape wrapping machine having a base, a supporting structuremovable toward said base and a recess into which an article is presseddownward for wrapping; a rotatable jaw having a rest position and arelease position, said jaw in its rest position defining a portion ofsaid recess, said jaw being mounted on said supporting structure to movefrom its rest position toward said base and to its release position uponapplication of downward pressure to said article, said movement of saidjaw permitting further downward movement of said article out of saidmachine, an edge portion of said jaw being formed with slots, a latchspring-biased for engagement with said slots to normally preventrotation of said jaw, and means for disengaging said latch from saidslots to permit rotation of said jaw, said last-mentioned means beingactivated only after a predetermined degree of movement of saidsupporting structure toward said base, means being provided to urge saidjaw to its rest position.

3. In a tape wrapping machine having a base and a supporting structuremovable toward said base, a rotatable jaw, said jaw including spacedapart nose plates, said jaw being attached to said supporting structurefor movement downwardly from a normal rest position to a releaseposition, said jaw in rest position defining an edge of a recess intowhich an article is pressed downwardly for wrapping, said jaw in releaseposition rotating to open said recess and permitting further downwardmovement of said article out of said machine, said jaw being providedwith slots, said machines being provided with a latch, said latch beingin engagement with said slots when said jaw is in rest position, and cammeans positioned to act upon said latch to disengage said latch fromsaid slots only when said jaw reaches its release position after apredetermined degree of movement of said supporting structure towardsaid base, means being provided to urge said jaw to its rest position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,787,102 Kreuger Apr. 2, 1957 2,841,935 Kreuger July 8, 1958 2,882,663Leighton Apr. 21, 1959

